Ironing machine



April 8, 11.93% v PRACHAR 1353 939 IRONING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1924 :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 8, 1930..

J. PRACHAR IRONING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1924 ,3 Sheets-Sheet 2' V will; 1 2.5 a i qxm Am. 8, 1930. J. PRACHAR 1,153,939

'IRONING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1924 :5 sheets-sheet s Patented Apr. 8, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN PRACHAR, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, IBY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO CEN- TRAL NATIONAL BANK -;OF CLEVELAND, TRUSTEE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A COR- PORATION OF NATIONAL BANKING LAWS OF AMERICA i IRONING MACHINE Application filed January 18, 1924. Serial No. 686,943.

This invention relates to an ironing machine of the type having a rotating drum and a heated shoe, one of which is movable toward a d from the other.

i The pr sent invention relates to numerous parts or features of the machine, particularly in the mounting and manner of moving and controlling the shoe, the object of the invention being to provide certain improvements which increase the efficiency and utility of machines of this kind,and which improve the operation thereof in ironing and pressing laundry work and garments. The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction, and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims. J In the accompanying sheets of drawings wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig- 1 is an end view looking toward the driving end; Fig. 2 is a similar view looking toward the opposite end; Figs. 3 and 4 are detail sectional views illustrating the preferred way of supporting the feed board which normally stands close to the roll; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of.

the machine; Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view; Fig. 7 is a detail view partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a clutch which can be automatically or manually actuated to stop the rotation of the drum; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view showing the device for actuating and moving the shoe by hand,

instead of by power as the shoe is ordinarily moved; Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the machine showing particularly the driving mechanism for the roll and the power mechanism for shifting the shoe toward and from the roll; Fig. 10 is a rear view of the machine with a portion broken away or omitted; and Fig. 11 is a connection between the roll driving motor and the shoe.

Referring now to the drawings, the machine includes a horizontal table 10, supported as usual on legs or standards 11. The

detail View showing one element of a clutch which is utilized to make and break the power table is provided at opposite ends with up right standards 12 and 13, which support the rotatable cloth covered roll 14 which may be of usual construction. In this instance one end of the drum shaft is permanently supported in the standard 13 while the other end is detachably supported by a bearing arm 15 which normally rests upon a shoulder 12 of standard 12 (see Figs. 2, 4 and 6), and which has a tubular extension 16 slidable in a boss 12 of standard 12 (see'Fig. 4). The bearing arm is normally held in drum supporting position, in which position it receives the end of the drum shaft, by a set screw 17, and when the set screw is loosened the extension 16 of the arm can be slid in the boss 12 so as to disengage the bearing arm from the end of the drum shaft and thus leave the drum free and unsupported at one end so that a tubular garment can he slipped over the drum. The extension 16 may be provided with a head 16 to limit the movement thereof in the boss 12.

Close to the drum is a horizontal feed table 18, supported by arms 19 on the brackets 12 and 13. In this instance one of the arms 19 is slidable on an annular flange 20 projecting inwardly from the bracket 12, as shown in ,Fig- 4. The other arm is normally locked to bracket 13 by a bolt 21 provided with/a thumb nut, as shown in Fig. 3, the engaging faces of the lower end of the arm and bracket having teeth on the order of dental clutch teeth, so that the arm is normally supported as shown in the drawings, but by loosening the thumb nut on the bolt 21 the feed board can be shifted laterally slightly so as to disengage the teeth referred to, and permit the table to be swung downward.

On the-opposite side of the drum from the feed board 18, and movable toward and away from the drum, is an ironing shoe 22 which is mounted and actuated in accordance with important features of the invention. This shoe can be heated in any of the usual ways, but in this instance by gas flame, the gas' for heating being shown in Fig. 10 as supplied by pipe 23, provided with a suitable valve 24. i

It will be seen by reference to the drawings, that the shoe is supported at opposite ends by arms 25, in the nature of bell-cranks which are pivotally supported on a fixed rod 26 mounted in bosses at the rear ends of the brackets 12 and 13. The arms 25 have upstanding portions which are pivotally connected by pins 27 to ears 28projecting rearwardly from the end portions of the shoe intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof, and in this instance somewhat below the longitudinal center line of the shoe. Obviously this manner of connecting the shoe to the arms 25 allows an equalizing or rocking action which is important when work to be ironed, particularly if of considerable thickness, is carried around by the drum under first the upper part and then the lower part of the shoe.

The levers or arms 25 are adapted to be rocked on the fixed shaft or rod 26 by links 29 having theirupper ends pivotally connected at 30 to rearwardly projecting portions of the arms 25 and provided at their lower ends with eccentric straps 31 engaging eccentrics 32 secured to a rotatable shaft 33 mounted in bearings on the rear sides of the standards 11. The throw of the eccentrics is sufficient and the parts are so adjusted that when the shaft 33 is rotated, the eccentrics will move the shoe up to and in engagement with the drum and then a definite distance away from the drum.

The links are constructed so as to permit a yielding of either end of the shoe away from the drum so that the shoe can accommodate itself to uneven thicknesses of materials being ironed, and this is accomplished by forming each link ofa pair of telescopic members 29 and 29 between which is a stiff coil spring 29. The yieldable feature of these links 29 together with the pivoted equalizing connection between the shoe and the arms 25 render the ironing machine as a whole very satisfactory in operation.

The shaft 33 is ordinarily actuated or moved to and away from the drum by power, but it can be actuated by hand, and in this instance this is accomplished by a ratchet device including a lever 34 normally supported by a spring catch 35 on the under side of table 10, this lever carrying a pawl 36 which engages a ratchet wheel 37 keyed to a shaft 33, and turns the same when the lever is swung up and down (see Fig. 8).

The roll '14 is rotated, and when desired, the shoe is moved to and away from the roll by an electric motor 38, supported on the under side of the table near one end thereof. The motor can be controlled by a conveniently located switch which is preferably provided at one end of the table, as indicated at 39 in Fig. 5.

The motor is supported in horizontal position with its axis extending front to rear or crosswise of thetable, and it drives a horizontal shaft 40, also supported on the under side of the table. and at right angles to the motor shaft, the two shafts being preferably connected by worm and Worm wheel gearing indicated at 41 in Fig. 9. The shaft 40 extends on both sides of the motor shaft, and at one end which is beneath one end of the table 10 it is provided with a sprocket wheel 42, which through the medium of a sprocket chain 43 drives a sprocket wheel 44, supported on a fixed stud 45 which also rotatably supports a pinion 46 engaging a gear 47 on the end of the drum shaft. The chain and sprocket and spur gearing are enclosed within a protecting housing 48 secured to the outer face of bracket 13.

The sprocket wheel 44 and pinion 46 are provided on their adjacent faces with clutch teeth, and the pinion 46 is slidable on the fixed stud 45, as best shown in Fig. 9, so that the driving connection between the motor and drum may be made or broken at this point. In other words, the pinion acts as a movable clutch'member though its face is long enough to remain in geared relation with gear 47 when it is disengaged from the sprocket wheel 44.

The pinion can be shifted so as to break the driving engagement by a pin 49 movable endwise centrally in the stud 45. The pinion is moved in one direction to engage the clutch and is normally held in engaged position by a spring 50, and it is moved to disengaged position by a swinging rod or leve1u51 (see particularly Fig. 7) which extends into the bracket 13 from the rear thereof, as is best shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 10. The inner end of the lever engages the inner end of clutch shifting pin 49, and its outer or rear end projects through a slot in the bracket 13 so that it may be engaged by a part movable with the shoe, as will be explained presently, to automatically stop the rotation of the drum when the shoe is swung back or away from the drum.

The clutch can be disengaged manually when desired by a suitable manually actuatable member 52 (see Fig. 7) connected to the lever. In this instance this member is in the form of a pin, with its inner end secured to the lever 51 and its, outer nd hooked, and capable of being turned so as to engage a shoulder 53 of the bracket to shift the inner end of the lever 51 laterally in a direction to hold the clutch in disengaged position as when it is desired to use the machine for pressing work, in which event it is desired that the drum be stationary.

For the purpose of disengaging the clutch to stop the rotation of the drum automatically when the shoe is swung back, a part which is actuated when the shoe is moved, is arranged to engage and move the clutch shifting lever 51. This is accomplished in this in stance by providing the shoe actuating arm or lever 25 located at the driving end of the machine with an L-shaped extension 54 carrying an adjustable screw 55 (see particularly Fig. 10) whose inner end is adapted to engage the outer end of the lever 51 causing the same to fulcrum about the inner side of the slot in the bracket 13 and move to clutch disengaging position when the arm swings back and when the extension 54 and screw 55 move downward. On the reverse movement of the shoe the spring 50 automatically restores the clutch to engaged position unless it is restrained from inward movement by the hook 52.

The portion of the motor driven shaft projecting inwardly beyond the worm gearing 41 is also'provided with a clutch, and with a power connection with the shoe to swing the latter by power. In this instance this portion of the shaft is provided with asprocket wheel 56 connected by a sprocket chain 57 to a sprocket wheel 58 on shoe actuating shaft 33 mounted on the rear side of the machine, as previously explained. The

sprocket wheel 56 on motor driven shaft 40 is adapted to be connected to shaft 40 by a clutch member 59. The sprocket has an endwise movement on the shaft 40 and is adapted to be moved to clutched or engaged position by a spring 60 which surrounds the shaft 40 and is located between an extension 56 of the hub of sprocket 56 and an arm or bracket 61 supporting one end of shaft 40, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The clutch member 59 is also capable of a slight endwise movement'on the shaft away from sprocket 56, and in this instance also of a slight rotary movement, and for that purpose the driving connection between it and shaft-40, is through a pin 62 carried by the shaft and extending into a spiral or inclined slot 63 in the hub of clutch member 59, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. l The purpose of this slight rotary and endwise movement of clutch member 59 will be explained presently.

Ovbiously to rotate shaft 33 so as to swing shoe 22 by power, the clutch, composed of parts 56 and 59, must be engaged, and to stop the movement of the shoe the clutch must be disengaged. To render the machine most effective, the clutch must be disengaged and the shoe stopped when the shoe is in its innermost position, and when it is at or adjacent its outermost position, and means should be provided for manually throwing in the clutch to start the movement in either direction and to cause the automatic disengagement of the clutch when the shoe is in each of the two positions stated. Very effective means, to accomplish this is provided in this machine, consisting of the following mechanism. There is arranged along the front of the table 10 underneath the same, a control rod 64 which extends horizontally substantially the full length of the table so that it can be shifted by the knee of the operator at any 7 point along the table at which the operator maybe standing. The control rod 64 is carried by a pair of arms 65 pivot-ed at 66 at their inner and lower ends on a pair of brackets 67 extending downward on the under side of the table. The rod is normally supported by gravit in the position shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, eing held in that position by shoulders 67 on the brackets 67 and it is swung up by the knee or leg of the operator to allow the clutch to be thrown in. One of the arms 65 is in the form of a bell-crank,

and is provided with an inwardly-extending end elevated. The inner end of this lever is in the form of a cam (see particularly Fig. 10) which is adapted to engage a pin 72 on the hub of the endwise movable sprocket wheel 56, the arrangement being such that when the inner end of lever 69 is depressed it is in the path of movement of pin 72 so as to cam the pin and consequently the slidable sprocket wheel 56 away from the associated clutch member 59. This disengages the clutch and stops the movement of the shoe and holds the clutch in disengaged position as long as the lever 69 is in normal position, but when the lever is rocked by lifting the control rod 64 so as to elevate the inner end of lever 69, thus removing the cam or inner end of the lever from restraining position with respect to the pin 72, the clutch snaps into engagement, whereupon the shoe is moved by power either toward or away from the drum, and assuming that the control rod 64 is released immediately after being actuated, the clutch is again disengaged when the pin 72 and sprocket 56 make one revolution. This mo vement of the pin and sprocket is suflicient to give the shoe a full swinging movement in one direction or the other, and the parts are so related or timed that the disengagement of the clutch takes place when the shoe is in its innermost position, or when it is at or movement on shaft 40. This movement was I provided to cause complete separation of the two clutch members when the sprocket wheel 56 is disengaged. Without this movement the clutch would be disengaged just enough to stop the transmission of power, but with the ends of the teeth capable of striking each other by the continued rotation of clutch member 56 which would cause an undesirable clicking noise. I therefore arrange not only for movement of the clutch member and sprocket wheel 56 in one direction to stop the transmission of the power from the motor to the shoe, but also cause the slight endwise movement in the opposite direction of the clutch member 59. The latter movement is secured by the pin and slot' connection previously described, and additionally by providing between shaft 40 and clutch member 59 a spiral spring 73 (see Fig. 11). When the clutch is engaged and power is being transmitted from the motor to the shoe, pin 62 in order to drive the member 59 is at one end of the slot as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 such that the clutch member 59 is as far as it can move to the right as the same is viewed in Figs. 9 and 10, but as soon as the clutch is disengaged by the cam action whichslides the sprocket and co-operating clutch member 56 away from the clutch member 59, the spring 7 3 is then free to turn clutch member 59 until pin 62 is at the opposite end of the slot, this movement being suflicient to cause complete clearance of the teeth of the two clutch members.

Thus it will be seen that when the motor is in operation, the drum is rotated and the shoe is normally stationary, and that the operator has only to raise his or her knee so as to rock the control rod 64 to cause the engagement of the clutch and the movement of the shoe to or away from the drum, and when the shoe reaches either extreme position it is again automatically stopped, but, of course, capable of movement to its other position when the operator again actuates the control rod 64. If for any reason power is not available to move the shoe, the operator can move it by hand by actuating lever 34.

If the operator desires to use the machine for pressing purposes, as for pressing a garment not intended to be moved by the roll through the machine in the ordinary manner, clutch member 46 will be disengaged, in which event the drum will remain stationary and the power of the motor can be utilized at the will of the operator to bring the shoe into engagement with the drum and then to swing it away from the drum at any time desired.

The fact that the shoe is so mounted as to obtain an equalizing motion by rocking movement about a line or axis extending longitudinally of the drum between the top and bottom thereof, and also for rocking movement about either end has already been explained and need not be further referred to. While I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, I do not desire to be confined to the exact details or arrangements shown, but aim in my claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1,. In an ironing machine, a roll, power means for actuating the roll, a shoe movable toward and away from the roll, a pair of pivotally supported arms connected to the shoe adjacent opposite ends thereof, a shaft having eccentric means thereon, and independent yieldable members connecting the same to the arms.

2. In an ironing machine a rotary roll, a shoe movable toward and from the roll, a motor for rotating the roll, a shaft for actuating' the shoe and provided with a pair of eccentrics, pivoted arms connected; to the shoe, and yieldable links connecting the arms to the eccentrics.

3. In an ironing machine, a table, relatively movable ironing elements comprising a rotatable roll and a shoe supported above the table, means for driving the roll, shifting mechanism for causing relative movement between the roll and shoe to engage or disengage the same, and means for operating the shifting mechanism including a shiftable clutch element having a bias toward engaging position and a clutch actuator having a part engageable with said clutch element to shift the same to and retain the same in disengaging position with the shifting mechanism in either of two positions, in one of which the shoe and roll are in engagement and in theother of which the roll and shoe are out of engagement, said actuator being provided with means for normally holding the same in clutch releasing position, said actuator having a part extending substantially the full length of the table immediately beneath the forward edge thereof which is adapted to be moved upwardly by the knee of the operator to release the clutch element and cause actuation of said shifting mechanism.

In testimony signature.

whereof, I hereunto affix my JOHN PRACHAR. 

